Magic trick



K. S. FRANKE Jan. 4, 194 9.

MAGIC TRICK Filed July 25, 1946 INVENTOR.

KENNETH 5. FAA NKE Patented Jan. 4, 1949 GEE-ICE;

MA'GIC TRICK Kennetl'rS. Franke; Woodside; Longxlsland, Ni Y.; Y

Marian: Franke executrix r of said; Kenneth S.

Franke, deceased Applicationlizly 25, 1946, Serial-N0. 686,089

7 Claims.

ora pillars areprovided, each-havinga differentcolor: The: spe ctator" is requested-to". select one of; the. objects ;while the magician turns his back andito place-the selected .object. invthe bag; which is thenhandedtothemagician. The latter holds, the bag.containingzthe objectbehind his backsandthenannounces tozthespectatorthe color of the object which he'had selected; All butone. of the objects are provided wtih indentations: or holes extending into the objects from one end-and; the:

hole in each object isiofva :distinct length; It. is r preferred that the holes extend longitudinally into the objects from. one end and; that f of' eacheob ject has-afiixed thereto, over -the opening fito the hole, a small cover of 'a fabric materiah such-as: felt; The fabric serves to: cover the opening -tothe holeso thatthe =holes-are not perceived by the spectator. It isalsopref erred that theends 'of the objects or pillarsoppositethe feltcoversbe-slight lye indented'for a reason tobe" explained hereinafter. Unbeknown to the spectator the magician three' pillars one endz of: each pillar. being-cicadiilferent color; v

Figure 2 is-a viewr-similan to Figure lgbutiwith the lower; portion of g the; pillars; broken; away =to show.- the: conzealedho'les therein;

Eisnren is a; vertical; sectionall-view Qfs' arzneedla or: pincwithinaacarrvingacaser and:

Fligures i; isx'a :vert-lcali elevation .showingn'onamfz';

2 the'objects on pillarswithin a cloth bag and with the needleinsertedinto thehole inthe pillar.

, Referring;- tq -Eigure 1 oi; thedrawing three objects-l0 shown in the form of small pillars are illustrated, these objects having identical outward shapes-land sizes. Theupper end of each pillar,is preferablv; slightlyindented :as at I21 anclethe inner-portion. of -.the-:indentation-iscolored differently for each pillar. As shown in Figure 10,-2, twee-of the pillars are provided with indentations or. holes I 4 1 extendinginto the pillars from the lower ends. As shown, the holein the center pillarlis shonterythanathe hole in the. righthand pillar and-thellefthandppillar is not" provided lliswith any. hole or indentation corresponding to thelholes- I41! Thelower end,of each pillar has afiixed thereto adisc I B=of .a fabric material such as .felt-, these' fabric disc's serving to conceal the openings to the .holes l4. 29

a small knob or handle 20 securedto one end, the knob lbeingeadapted to have afriction fit within accontainer 22. The container 22 is provided iniorder toprevent,damagefromthe needle while zfitthe device is not being. used.'

A: small bag.- preferably of suitable cloth iswshowninnFig-ure 4 the opening inwhich may be closed as by-means of a rubber band 26.

In demonstrating the, trick, the threepillars Q as shown inFigure 1, together. with the bag 24 are handed to the spectator who isrequested to select one of the pillars, to remember, the color thereof and to place the selected pillar within thef bag..-whichl,-is then closedby means ofthe .l "erubberband 2.5., The ba .containin :the selected has concealed in his hand. or clothing a -pointedg g instrument such'asa needle: or pin and-presses theneedleinto. the covered; endoffthe selected object sothat, it enters the 'hole therein. The,

pillar .is thenrhanded tothe magician who places it behind his back. Due to the indentationii the magician can readily feel the pillar. through the lbagand tellwhich. end is indented. and. therellotbyvwhich endghas-the. covering it. He then removes.theMneedIe-JB. which he mayhave, previously, pinnednnderneath,hisjacket or concealed inchis,hand,.and..presses theneedle through the bagBA-andthe covering 16;. If the needle does not -penetrate farther than through the thickness ot-the covering! 6,. themagician would thenknow that theselectedobiectis the one. shown at the leftinl-Eiguresrl and 2 andhe. would then announce thatlthespectator had selected, for in- 50. stancathe pillar having the red end. If, however,

the needle passes through thecovering it into a hole. l.4- the. na uaioianv immediately knows by the depths: through;- which; the; needlepenetrates.

whetherrthe object;iseltheaoneyhaving the short 55 honest-shown the center in. Figure 2. or the InFigure 3-is shown aneedle-or pin it having a one having the long hole as shown at the right in that figure. The magician then removes the needle and conceals it again in his clothing or in his hand and hands the still closed bag 24 back to the spectator for examination.

Although three objects have been shown and described it is believed apparent that any suitable number can be used, it merely being necessary for the magician to have memorized the association of the different colors with the different lengths of the holes corresponding to the colors. It is also believed obvious that instead of providing the objects in the shape of pillars as shown, these objects can take any suitable form or shape as long as they are all of identical outward shape and size. For example, the objects may take the form of small doll figures, the holes l4 extending into the figures through the feet which would be covered with the fabric l6. Although the bag 24 adds considerably to the efiect of the trick it is not necessary that it be used. In other words, a selected object can be handed directly to the magician behind his back so that he can not see the identifying color. He then proceeds to push the needle into the object as described above and then announces the identity thereof. It is not necessary that different colors be used since any suitable marks of identification can be used satisfactorily. For example, the objects may be numbered or lettered in a manner such that the mark will be visible but not discernible by touch.

Although one of the pillars has been shown and described as not being provided with a hole I4, it is understood that, if desired, each pillar or object may be provided with a hole, it merely being essential that all of the holes be of different lengths or depths, and that the magician have memorized the relation between the length of each hole and the corresponding markings on the pillars. Instead of indenting the ends of the pillars as shown at !2, the ends opposite the ends covered by the fabric [6 can be beveled or provided with any other shape so that one can distinguish between the ends while a pillar is within the bag 24. In place of the cloth bag 24, other containers such, for instance, as paper envelopes can be used, the main advantage of thecloth residing in the fact that the small puncture made by the needle ill will not be discernible to the spectator.

Obviously many other modifications and variations of the invention as above set forth may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and therefore only such limitations should be imposed as are indicated in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A magic trick device comprising a plurality of objects of substantially identical outward shape and size, certain of said objects being provided with indentations of different depths, means covering the openings to said indentations so that they are not visible to the eye and means for determining the depth of an indentation comprising a pointed instrument adapted to penetrate said cover means and to enter one of the objects to the bottom of its indentation, the amount of penetration serving as an indication of the depth of the indentation and thus of the identity of the object penetrated.

2. A magic trick device comprising a plurality.

of objects of substantially identical outward shape and size, each object having adifferent visible marking and certain of said objects being provided with indentations, a cover of fabric material over the outer end of each indentation, so that the indentations are not visible to the eye, and means for determining the depth of an indentation comprising a pointed instrument adapted to penetrate said fabric cover and to enter one of the objects to the bottom of its indentation, the amount of penetration serving as an indication of the depth of the indentation and thus of the identity of the object penetrated.

3. A magic trick apparatus comprising a plurality of objects of substantially identical outward shape and size, each of said objects being marked so that it can be visibly identified and certain of said objects being provided with indentations of different depths, cover means for said indentations so that the identations are not Visible to the eye, a closable container into which one of said objects can be placed, and means for determining which one of the objects has been placed in the container comprising a pointed instrument adapted to penetrate said container and said cover means and to enter the object in the container to the bottom of its indentation, the amount of penetration serving as an indication of the depth of the indentation and thus of the identity of the object within the container.

4. A magic trick device comprising a plurality of objects of substantially identical outward shape and size, each object having a difierent visible marking and each but one of said objects being provided with an indentation extending into the object from one side and having a certain depth and the depths of the indentations being different for each of the objects, means covering the opening to each indentation so that it is not outwardly visible, and means for determining the depth of an indentation and thus the identity of the object containing that indentation comprising a pointed instrument adapted to be pushed through the said cover means to the inner end of the indentation, the amount of penetration of said instrument providing an indication of the depth of the indentation and therefore the identity of the object.

5. A magic trick device for magicians comprising a plurality of objects of substantially identical outward shape and size, each object having a different visible marking and each but one of said objects being provided with an indentation extending into the object fro-m one side and having a depth known to the magician to correspond to one of said markings, means covering the opening to each indentation so that it is not outwardly visible, and means whereby the magician can determine the identity of one of the objects handed him by a spectator, comprising a pointed instrument adapted to be pushed through the said cover means to the inner end of the indentation in that object, the amount of penetration of said instrument providing the magician with an indication of the depth of the indentation and therefore the identity of the object.

6. A magic trick device for magicians comprising a plurality of elongated objects of substantially identical outward shape and size, one end of each object being marked with a different color and the opposite end of each but one of said objects being provided with an indentation extending into the object from that end and having a depth known to the magician to correspond with the color marking on the other end of the same object, means covering the opening to each indentation so that it is not outwardl visible to a spectator, and means whereby the magician can determine the depth of an indentation and thus the identity of the object containing that indentation comprising a pointed instrument adapted to be pushed through the said cover means to the inner end of the indentation, the amount of-penetration of said instrument providing an indication of the depth of the indentation and therefore the identity of the object.

7. A magic trick apparatus for magicians comprising a plurality of objects of substantially identical outward shape and size, each object having a difierent visible marking and each but one of said objects being provided with an indentation extending into the object from one side and having a depth known to the magician to correspond to one of said markings, means covering the opening to each indentation so that it is not outwardly visible to the spectator, a closable container of fabric material into which one of said objects can be placed by the spectator, and means whereby the magician cansubsequent- 1y determine which one of the objects has been placed in the container comprisin a pointed instrument adapted to be pushed through said container and the said cover means to the inner end of the indentation in the object in the container, the amount of penetration of said instrument providing an indication to the magician of the depth of the indentation and therefore the identity of the object in the container.

KENNETH S. FRANKE.

No references cited. 

